Nelson Mandela — anti-apartheid activist, South Africa’s first black president and a worldwide icon — died yesterday at age 95. In July, on his 95th birthday, I reflected a recent trip to South Africa in a post inspired by my rediscovery of a giant anti-apartheid Keith Haring poster from the mid-1980s. The anti-apartheid college campus…
Arts & Entertainment
On the Town: Macklemore at the Theater at MSG
After years of taking shiteous concert photos followed by some sporadic but significant improvement (see Eminem, Skylar Grey, Beyonce and Rihanna … but not Depeche Mode), I now go into full-on photojournalist mode at concerts. On one hand, I want to just enjoy the concert. On the other hand, I feel compelled to make up…
Throwback Thursday: Frankie Say Relax
All my posts this week have mentioned 1980s musicians: Devo, Ronnie James Dio, and Jimmy Somerville. I’m going to continue the theme and write about Frankie Goes to Hollywood for Throwback Thursday. I’ve been pondering Frankie since Monday, when I remarked that I regretted chucking my iconic Frankie Say Relax concert t-shirt long ago. I…
High School Censorship and Jimmy Somerville Singing
On Monday, I wrote about the theory that 14 is a key age for determination of musical tastes. Of course, all of one’s teen years are musically memorable. Fourteen is just the start of it. Personally, I have a lot of love for the music of 1983, when I was 15 (Kajagoogoo!). Then, in 1985,…
Jewel of the Month: Earring Homage to Eminem and MMLP2
My heavy-metal-loving customers have been asking me to add a “sign of the horns” stud to my emoji and emoji-inspired earring collection for a while now. The gesture became associated with metal because it was the late vocalist Ronnie James Dio’s signature move when he was in Black Sabbath. (Read what he had to say…
What Wendy Wore: Devo “Energy Dome” for Halloween
In a 2011 New York Times op-ed article marking Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday, David Hajdu wrote that 14 is a “formative age” when it comes to musical taste: “You’re in the ninth grade, confronting the tyrannies of sex and adulthood, struggling to figure out what kind of adult you’d like to be, and you turn…
What Wendy Wore: Still Curly in Ossie Clark and Versace
I barely slept after Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars last Tuesday. That worked out for the best, because I woke up from a brief snooze with the previous night’s curls intact. I was so excited to have them for another day that I was inspired to dress up a bit to meet up with…
Rapper 50 Cent and Wendy Brandes Swear Rings
Okay, superstar rapper 50 Cent isn’t WEARING my notorious swear rings in this photo, but he’s standing very close to someone who IS wearing them. From left to right, you see DJ Paul of rap group Da Mafia 6ix (and formerly of Three 6 Mafia); 50 Cent; and my gorgeous rapper friend Gangsta Boo, who…
What Wendy Wore: Patrick Kelly in Philadelphia
Next May, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is going to present a retrospective of one of my favorite ’80s fashion designers: Patrick Kelly. I have a nice little Patrick Kelly collection: The notorious and frequently worn leopard gown (seen in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011). Bow dress (seen in 2009 and 2011). Black mullet dress…
Shot Through the Heart: Earrings for “Pulp Fiction” Fans
I sell my stud earrings as singles so customers can mix and match and make their own pairs. For instance, the combination of my silver syringe and anatomical heart studs is perfect for fans of the 1994 classic movie Pulp Fiction. Here’s the clip of the notorious scene where hitman Vincent Vega (John Travolta) plunges…